Happy New Double Single Art Bergmann Day!
New singles, "A Hymn For Us" / "Raw Naked Monday", from "ShadowWalk"
We are ecstatic to present to you the first two singles from Art’s upcoming full length album which will be released officially by (weewerk) on September 29th.
Listen to the first two singles from Art’s upcoming full length album ShadowWalk which will be released by (weewerk) on September 29th.
https://weewerk.bandcamp.com/album/a-hymn-for-us-raw-naked-monday-by-art-bergmann https://open.spotify.com/album/5vvBjQdNGzf7r5ZTDeiu0b https://www.deezer.com/album/459721785
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 10, 2023
TORONTO ON – Member of the Order of Canada, Juno Award winner, two-time Polaris Music Prize long listed artist… Art Bergmann has been honoured by his home country in a multitude of ways. But behind the accolades is still a man coping with the unforgiving realities of life as he enters his seventies.
ShadowWalk – released Sept. 29 via (weewerk) – is Bergmann’s ode to Sherri Decembrini, his beloved wife of 30 years who passed away unexpectedly in March 2022. The album’s 12 songs capture the darkness, grief and desolation that comes from such a soul crushing loss, while also offering genuine hope that life will go on.
For Art, music remains the strongest healing force, and today he offers a preview of ShadowWalk with two songs, “Raw Naked Monday” and “A Hymn For Us,” that clearly demonstrate he hasn’t lost any of his ability to match memorable melodies with deeply personal lyrics.
Recorded at Turtle Sound South Surrey and IDIO Studio in Surrey, BC, ShadowWalk is an album for everyone who has loved, lost, and continues to live. Many of the songs were co-written with B.C. poet Patricia Kay, while Art’s longtime friend and fellow songwriter Donna Kerbel penned one track. Produced by Russell Broom and Wes Smith, Broom also contributed much of the music and soundscapes for the album as well.
Additional contributors to ShadowWalk include Paul Rigby (pedal steel), Aidan Farrell (vocals), Owen Owen Owen (bass), Adam Drake (drums), Sunny Matharu (tabla) and Katie Mosehauer & the Glass Heart String Orchestra (strings). The album has been mastered by Greg Reely and will be released on vinyl, as well as on all digital platforms. The album recording was supported by Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia. Special Thanks to all our generous GoFundMe donors for helping make this album possible. Utmost gratitude to Stephen Rioux, Jay Smales and (weewerk) for financing the vinyl pressing. All photography by P. Kay except back cover photo by Sherri. All layouts and graphics by Art and Marc Floyd. Eternal gratitude to TeamArt members Colin Smith, Jason Schneider, Gord Withers and Gordon Celesta. Executive Producer Phil Klygo (weewerk).
Now back in Vancouver, where in the late 1970s he was a driving force behind the city’s punk rock scene, Bergmann will launch ShadowWalk with a show at The Rickshaw Theatre, on Friday Sept. 29. The night will also include a group discussion about his 2022 authorized biography, The Longest Suicide, with its author Jason Schneider along with moderator Aaron Chapman. Advance tickets: https://an-evening-with-art-bergmann.eventbrite.ca
Art will also have a Toronto release show at The Horseshoe Tavern on Thursday November 2nd.
“A Hymn For Us” is from Art’s forthcoming full length album ShadowWalk on (weewerk) out September 29th
“I woke from a dream, or a dream awoke me with these words “Please, a hymn for all of us” We fleshed it out into this universal plea. We will all face loss in our lives. This is for everyone who has loved, all who have lost and we, who live.” – Art
Written by Art Bergmann/P.Kay Vocals - Art Bergmann, Aidan Farrell Guitars - Art Bergmann, Russell Broom, Paul Rigby Bass - Owen Owen Owen Drums - Adam Drake
LYRICS
Please, a hymn for all of us
We who live and who we lost
Who searched for love at life’s cost
Please, a hymn for all of us
May they live in Elysian fields
In blinding beauty that does not yield
Memory’s treasure we always feel
Roll away the stone that seals
In darkest night may you dream
Of wildling light that you seek
That glory sparks in every child
If built into a fire
Yea glory sparks in every child
Help them build a lasting fire
Of Love before they learn to lie
Give them Love that never dies
In Our Love’s a legacy
A legacy of Love (x2)
Place seeds of life in every gun
No, don’t flinch it must be done
Shoot them hard into the ground
Make growing joy the only sound
All creatures hear the sacred psalm
As broken hearts sing all night long
The timeless plea: “Let kindness be
The future for you and me”
In our Love a legacy
A legacy of Love
Legacy of Love
Raw Naked Monday is from Art’s forthcoming full length album Shadowwalk on (weewerk) out September 29th.
“A bit of humour and some respite found.” – Art
Written by Art Bergmann/P.Kay Vocals - Art Bergmann, Aidan Farrell Guitars - Art Bergmann, Russell Broom, Paul Rigby Bass - Owen Owen Owen Drums - Adam Drake
LYRICS
Its a raw naked Monday
Laid out, ripe in her room
She’s declining all raiment
I’m unsealing my doom
On a raw naked Monday
Alllove on Monday
At your door
May I come in?
I’m raw nervy memory
Locked and fused in lover’s lightning
I’m burning it off
Just like yesterday’s skin
Raw naked Monday
Lies ripe in her room
Alllove on Monday
Laid out in a swoon
No longer a vision
No longer strange
We sleepin’ fitful
We play Kama Sutra Supreme
Awaken from each way
Into happy smiling new dream
Its a secular service
We’ve got sanctified sin
So so sacred Monday
Jealous friends never get in
No longer a vision
No longer strange
Professin’ confessin’
You know she sears like the sun
We make love incandescent
We live and love in Illumination